Donnelly: veteran health care a high priority

Columbian Park was one of the Greater Lafayette locations where U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly spoke Monday. The Lafayette park was where the annual Memorial Day parade ended.
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Meeting the health care needs of current and former service members is obligatory, U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly said Monday.

The Indiana Democrat, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, was in Greater Lafayette to attend Memorial Day ceremonies.

The Department of Veterans Affairs is embroiled in controversy amid questions about high-quality and timely treatment for the nearly 9 million veterans who rely on it. Donnelly vowed to back corrective measures to address problems in VA hospitals, if investigators substantiate the allegations.

Named for 21-year-old Army Spc. Jacob Sexton, who shot himself in a Muncie movie theater while home on a 15-day leave in 2009, the measure would require annual mental health assessments for military personnel.

Sexton's father attended the State of the Union address in January, at Donnelly's invitation, to raise awareness for the alarming rates of suicide among military personnel.

Donnelly said the new regulations would be implemented in a way that encourages service members to open up.

"The process that's used is kept private, so that there's a confidence there among our soldiers that the kind of information they provide will not be used in a way that would hurt their ability to get a promotion," he said.

There were 522 military suicides in 2012, as many as 470 in 2013 and there's "an unprecedented spike" so far in 2014, according to Donnelly's bill.